Mason-Dixon poll: Clinton 45%, Trump 42% in Florida

@PatriciaMazzei

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 3 percentage points in Florida, according to a new poll that shows for the first time that a third-party candidate might draw support away from Trump.

Libertarian Gary Johnson garnered 6 percent support in the new Mason-Dixon poll, mostly from white Republican and independent voters. Clinton is ahead of Trump 45-42 percent, with 7 percent undecided.

Clinton is backed by 68 percent of Hispanics, but both she and Trump remain broadly disliked. Forty-seven percent of respondents view her unfavorably, and 53 percent feel the same way about Trump — about half the electorate in both cases.

Mason-Dixon took a look at whether picking a Floridian as running mate would help either candidate. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson wouldn’t help Clinton much. Gov. Rick Scott, on the other hand, “could be toxic” for Trump, pollster J. Brad Coker said in a statement, with 40 percent of Florida voters declaring themselves less likely to vote for Trump with Scott on the ticket.

The poll of 625 registered voters was conducted May 31-June 2. Its error margin is plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.